Top tips on how to stay safe when learning to drive

The Department for Transport has recently announced that, from 13th July 2012, the registrar of approved driving instructors will have the power to immediately suspend the registration or trainee licence of an instructor who presents a significant danger to the safety of the public.

Obviously, RED welcomes this news as it puts in place more safeguarding measurements to help keep learner drivers safe. However, learner drivers should not worry about their instructor presenting a danger to them. Not only do all trainees have an enhanced CRB disclosure before entering the industry, these are updated again every four years when they renew their registration as an Approved Driving Instructor, but currently, only around one per cent of driving instructors are removed from the register each year because they no longer meet the requirements of being suitable for the job or because of poor performance. Serious sexual offences are, thankfully, extremely rare.

As it currently stands, it takes a minimum of 45 days to prevent an instructor from continuing to give paid driving lessons. The introduction of these new powers is welcomed as it now means those found guilty of serious sexual offences can be immediately suspended whereas before it would have taken a lot longer.

Here at RED, we want to give you the best possible learning experience and your personal safety is our number one priority. Below are some simple tips on how to stay safe when learning to drive:

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Learners can keep themselves safe by choosing a reputable driving school, such as RED Driving School, and by listening out for friends’ recommendations. Reviews of RED instructors can be found on the review centre

Learners should ask their instructor if they have signed up to the DVSA code of practice. This means the instructor has voluntarily agreed to follow the code of practice in aspects such as their personal conduct when they are training you.

If you don’t like your instructor, RED will be happy to find you a new one – there’s no need to suffer in silence. We want to hear if our customers are having any issues so please call us on 0330 332 2680 and let us know